Today I began work on my second brew and it did not get off to the start that I wanted. I am making a DFH 90 clone using 1099 Wyeast smack pack. Per directions I smacked the pack, shook it up, and believed it to be actively chugging away. I did not feel the bubble inside the pack so I figured all was well. While that was going on I boiled up two pints of water and a cup of DME, transferred it to a growler that I use to culture up the yeast and let it cool. I sat both aside and went off to the movies with the family.

Three hours later when we got home I found that the pack was not swelling up. So, as a last resort I cut open the pack and added the starter to the DME, and also had to cut open the inner pack and also add that to the DME. It appears when I smacked it there was a pinhole that let just enough of the contents out to make it feel like it has fully been released. However, it was still fairly full.

I emptied the entire contents of the outer and inner packs to the cooled DME mixture and gave the whole thing a good mix for aeration, put on the airlock and am now waiting.

Did I just blow $6.99 on this wyeast pack with guaranteed failure? And, was it a mistake to sit the DME in the growler for three hours to cool while the yeast pack was (allegedly) working?, or should this all work out? Time will tell, I suppose, but I'm not that patient. Thanks in advance.

My american wheat smack pack did not work. I did not make a starter and it started at about 72 hours. It then blew the bunge off to my ceiling. Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew. ( know this from experience and lots of help of those on here when I am in the same position. It is hard, but we will keep your mind at ease.